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Sports Shorts: today’s top stories

The Tigers celebrate a win, clinching the AL Central division in Major League Baseball. Photo: Associated Press

TIGERS CLINCH AL AGAIN
The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 1-0 last night to capture their third straight AL Central title. Max Scherzer earned his major league-leading 21st win by holding the Twins to two hits while striking out 10 in seven innings. The Tigers scored the lone run just two-batters into the game as Austin Jackson tripled and scored on Torii Hunter’s single.

DODGERS OUTFIELDER OUT?
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier returned to Southern California yesterday to have his troublesome left ankle re-examined. Ethier has missed 10 straight games with the injury, and the team isn’t sure he’ll be available for the NL division series next week. He is batting .272 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs for the NL West champions.

QB BENCHED
Tampa Bay has benched quarterback Josh Freeman and replaced him with rookie Mike Glennon, just two days after coach Greg Schiano insisted that Freeman remained the starter. Freeman has completed just 45.7 percent of his passes for the winless Buccaneers for 571 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

OKC THUNDER TRAINING CAMP
The timetable for All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook’s return from a knee injury remains uncertain as Oklahoma City opens training camp. General manager Sam Presti says it would be “irresponsible” of him to say when Westbrook would be fully cleared medically, but didn’t dispute the notion that Westbrook could miss the season opener Oct. 30 at Utah. Westbrook underwent surgery for a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee April 27 after suffering the injury during Game 2 of the Thunder’s Western Conference quarterfinal series.

STUNNING COMEBACK
The United States has pulled off one of the finest comebacks in sports to win the America’s Cup. Skipper Jimmy Spithill steered Oracle’s space-age, 72-foot catamaran to its eighth straight victory, speeding past Dean Barker and Team New Zealand in Race 19 in San Francisco Bay yesterday. All but defeated a week ago, Spithill and his international crew twice rallied from seven-point deficits to win 9-8.